Spring-hinge.



other. distinctively-novel features which render it UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

vJAMEs o. K1N or CLEVELAND, omo.

SPRING-HINGE.

'SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent N o. 848,066, dated May 1, 1900.

i Application filed January 10, 1900. Serial Nn.'963. (No model.)-

To all whom. it 11m 1/ concer/1,:

Beitknown'that I, JAMES O. KING,a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in

the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Hinges; a'nd I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to spring hinges which are admirably adapted to screen-doors, but are not thus limited in their use and may be em ployed wherever a spring-hinge is desirable for either keeping the dooropen or closed. B v using the word door of course I mean to include gates, lids, and hinged shutters of Wha-tsoeverkind and use and with or in which my improved hinge might be available o. d sirable.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plain outside elevation of my improved hinge as it appears when 'thedoor is in closed position, a section of thedoor and door-casing being shown in that connection; and Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line 2.2, Fig. l. Fig. .3 is a cross-section of the same parts and on the same line as Fig. 2, but showing the door and hinge as they appear when half- I way open. Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective elevations of the two members or sectionsof the hinge in detail to more clearly disclose their individual features. y

A and ll respectively represent sections of a door and a door-casing, and andD theA members or sections of the hinge. It isimmaterial which member is secured to either door or casing, and theopcration will be preeisely the same inv either case. llence they are interchangeable and no mistake can be made il." they are originally set one way or the The hinge thus shown has several exceptional in the art .and valuable as an article. In the iirst place it is a sheet-metal product, beiugstrnck up from spring-steel of any suitable weight, 'according to the size of hinge wanted, and curled at its ears c and d l' or engagement by the pintles 2, two of which are used, as here shown. lThis avoids possible conflict by the pintle with the operation of thc springs of the Ahinge, as would occur close the door.

were they made of no greater elevation relatively than lis 'here-shown but if they stood out farther from the`lat surface of the hinge a single full-length pintle could be 'used instead of one for each set of ears as now, and the pintle would not be in the way.

Now coming to the more strikingly original and characteristic portions of the hinge it will be noticed that the section C has a ceutral arm'c' with a small tongue c2 on its extremity, and that-said arm is an integral portion of the section and stands` out from its su rfaee normally abontas seen in Fig. 2. arm also is a spring member in the organization here shown, but not necessarily-that is, there might be such ample room afforded in its engagement with the opposite section that a rigid armwould answer my purpose; but a spring-arm is greatly to be preferred in operation and avoids the common danger of breakage which comes to a rigid arm.

The section or member D has at its middle,

between its ears d, a combined spring andbearing portion f7, shaped, preferably, as here shown, but not. necessarily, the only-reallyneeessary features being that it should be'a spring and afford a bearing for the arm c.

" The character` of this bearing is twofold, as

disclosed in the present case-.that is, it locks the arm c' with the spring d when the door opens to or past the half-way-open point, as seen .in Fig. 3, and ,makes ,a spring also of the said arm, and especially does the spring d afford a bearing-surface for the shoulders c3- on arm c and through which the two portions c and d are made elective for all the spring action and pressure obtained by this hinge. Of course this is to be interpreted along with the fact that both arm c and spring Il stand out such a distance from the plain surface of the hinge-body as to form a .leverage outside the axis of the hinge through the pintles 2. 1 This is illustrated in Fig. 3, where the'springd' is under its strongest tension or deepest depression-by shoulders c3, and hence is exerting its nt-most push against arm c' to Hence also the door may swing half-way openand yet not reach the dead-center point, so that whenthus opened the spring would automatically close it. 'The dead-center is farther back, nearly half-way to its farthest back position, where thespring This . being opened and tl` spring-depressing shoul ders c3 slide on their bearings (Z3 on the spring d'. The tongue c2 being' hooked 'beneath spring d in or through its recess cl2, the shoulders c3 are forced to'do their Work. However, if arm cwere an unyielding or rigid arm and the bridge portion d4 of the spring were removed, the arm would Work Without `a tongue. It will be understood, too, thatA I can change the-appearance and the relations of the work-- Y ing portions of arm c' and Vspring d Without altering their joint eect or' departing from the spirit of my invention, and all equivalent eonstruetionsof these parts'are understood to be covered by my claims. Finally 'and as already indicated, the leverage of the spring and arm to do their work is' dependent on their arrangement outside the axis of the hinge-.vertically and their distance from the said axis laterally to their shouldered connection and rise from the body of the hinge-sections, of which they are each a part.

Under the foregoing description the portion d' of hinge-section Dis treated as the spring proper, 'and this View alsofcnters into the claimsif asin gle spring be mentioned or prop- ,erly inferred from the language employed; but as already stated the arm c is here a spring-arm .and coactsvwith the4 spring proper inaordiug the desired spring effects.

` Whatl claim is-' 1. In springfhinges, aset of separable members formed from sheet metal and having ears at top andbottom for pintles, and each meinber havin g a sprl ng i ntegral therewith extendl as described.

ing across the axis of the hinge Wholly outside thereof at the-rear, said springs constructed to overlap and having positive and sliding engagement with each other at their inner ends, substantially as described. l

2. A hinge consisting of two members having each a springTarm at its rear extending inwardly behind and ap`art from the axis of saidmembers, one of said arms having an overlapping portion adapted to positively engage and bear on the other arm, whereby said overlapping arm is prevented from slidingwhen the hinge begins to open and the inner arm is.v depressed and spring action is produced as the-hinge is opened, substantially 3. In spring-hinges, tions pivotally connected at top aud'bo'ttom, an integral spring-arm on each section extending inwardly and overlapped behind the A axis of said-sections, one arni having arecess in its inner edge and flat surfaces at the sides thereof, and the other arm having shoulders bearing on said flat surfaces and an inward projection entering said recess, Whereb y when the hinge starts to ope'n'the said projection forms a .positive stop between said arms to prevent sliding and thev said shoulders depress the inner arm and develop its spring action, and-thesaid shoulders are enabled to slide outward on the oppositear-m when the door passes vthe half-way point rearward, substantially as described.

W'itness my hand to the foregoing Specification thisth day-'of January, 1900.

JAMES o. KING.

Witnessesr.

H. E. MUDRA, R. B. Mosi'nn.

a pair of separable sec- 

